I spent almost two hours of my evening plastered to You Tube. It's Nick at Nite's fault. Ashley was singing on Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. She was on a stage, dressed in Cross Colors, a bra top, and Doc Martins. Suddenly I'm back in 1993 sitting cross legged on the living room floor enraptured by different teens on a different screen. I saw Rhona and Ricky and Britney and Justin and Christina. I saw flannel and velvet body suits. I saw the Mickey Mouse Club and in that moment I had to see it again for real.
Seek and ye will find. And find I did. The Season 6 opener, the Season 1 ending credits, Dale/Justin/JC/and Ryan singing "Cry For You," Christina singing "I'm Not Over You," and so much more. I watched it all. And once the laughter dissipated, the longing set in. Thirteen years later, I still want to be a Mousketeer.
I never watched, I studied. Every song, every dance, every skit. I would stand up in front of the television and copy their choreography, just to make sure I could keep up. Thanks to six years of dance lessons I could. And I sang a mean rendition of that song that goes, "Too many walls have been built in between us. Too many dreams have been shattered around us. If I choose to give up, I still never win. Deep in my heart I know that truth is within." All I had to do is wait for the auditions to roll into my town and I could join the Club.
Unfortunately I'm still waiting. The show got cancelled, and even with the renewed interest due to the success of several alums, I doubt they'll bring it back. But if by some miracle The Disney Channel recognized the error of its ways and resurrected the Mickey Mouse Club, then what? According to a friend, I'm too old and too tall to audition. Plus, my voice isn't what it used to be and could possibly be mistaken for a dying hyenna.
Even though I know time has passed me by, I'm still preparing for my shot. I still study, except now BET and MTV are my teachers. Not one video can play without me getting up just to make sure I can do it too. My latest inspiration is Danity Kane (courtesy of Diddy!). Today, I felt an inexplicable compulsion to stay in front of the mirror in only a bra and panties, practicing the dance in their Show Stopper video until I could smell myself. I was gyrating, popping, and winding my heart out. And when I fell on my ass for the fifth time because my knees just can't handle dropping it like it's hot, I had to wonder why the hell I can't just let it go?
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24 comments:
wow, um....Liz...you are really special...just...wow...
Whenever I dance I always feel like that little fat kid with piggy tails in Jennifer Lopez's long ago "If You Had My Love" video.
I'm just THAT graceful.
I never saw The Mickey Mouse Club but understand the dancing. I so want to start my own Rhythm Nation. ; )
So many of my best childhood memories are related to MMC. Don't be too jealous, but I was a regular at tapings and sat in the studio audience. My older sister even has a "Hall of Fame" Award.
I was a little ahead of your time though...I was in the Damon, Tiffini, Chase, Albert and Deedee era. You can't forget The Party!
MMC! The Party! Dancing in the basement, thinking JC was hotter than Justin, wanting to be Keri....
thanks for the Flashback. I need to do some YouTubin'.
Never let it go!!!
I have to say, sometimes I get addicted to some of the footage on Youtube. That stuff has some sick things on there! Leave it to me to watch the gross flicks.
Now dancing in front of your mirror in your panties should be shown on Youtube. We'll wait for your video blog next post!
I used to practice in the big mirror in my mother's room to be a Soul Train dancer. I thought that a producer, who just happened to be in Hollis, Queens one day might see me and decide I was destined for stardom.
I'm still holding on to the dream...
OK - now don't hate me because I saw Raquel sing (or lip sync?) "Miss You Much" over and over again. LIVE.
I distinctly remember that episode because it was around my birthday. And if you watch it now...you can catch me in the audience and see me dancing during the credits....
because we got Fred and Mowava and the mousketeers and we gonna rock riiight here...oh yeah. Mickey Mouse rocks the house! Mi-Mi-Mickey Mouse rocks the house!
(MMC has been added to my list of future blog topics, thanks!)
Too bad I can't share in the MMC enthusiasm with you and Kat...BUT, I can soooo relate to Jali and the Soul Train dream. I used to wish I could be on the show and that my awesome dance skills would attract the attention/admiration of some hot R&B artist (say Tevin Campbell or the lead singer from B.B.D) and he would wisk me away, and we'd live happily ever after. That dream died hard when I found out they taped in California...and that I had two left feet! =D
Mmmmmm....OK.
KZ
NOTHING would EVER make me dance in my bra and panties. But let's face it, you're hot.
This post takes me back to the time of Janet Jackson's Pleasure Principle video. As long as nobody was around I'd get up and do the moves with her. Ah, yes. Those were special times.
You can't let it go because it's a part of you. I still want to mimic the moves I see too. But I know I'm not limber enough to do the stuff they do now. At least you can still bust a move, Cheetarah!
Citygirl- Dont be ashamed I still do the "Pleasure Principle" dance.
And as for panites and a bra? Hell I dance in front of the mirror all the time. Wife beater, half dressed, In my Spanx. Ahh my boyfriend is a lucky guy, isn't he??
Your post reminds of my 16th summer. It was an Olympics year, and I hogged the TV to watch the gymnastics competition while practicing one-armed roundoffs and imagining the world watching my impeccable balancing beam routine on international television.
A friend of mine looks at dreams like ours and says, "We're not just who we are - writer, teacher, secretary, whatever - we're the sum of all our possibillities."
too true! I can't let it go, either! Except I'm 36 and when I was a pre-teen they hadn't reformed the MMC yet, All I had were reruns of the original--seriously! the one with Cubby and Annette...way before my time--and I STILL wanted to be on that show. My mother never had the heart to tell mt that the show was old enough that she herself used to have the same dream.
I still wear my ears around the house and sing and dance.
Yeah YOU Tube is SOO addictive. as addictive as MySpace!
I'm a white guy who used to watch Soul Train.
I know what The Soul Train Scramble is.
So I've never seen the MMC, but it's referred to often enough in the press. If you can dance yourself sweaty (and not while in a club doing it) you have found the best exercise! You must be one helluva dancer girl
;-)
Asa, she's one hell of a dancer, alright...a HORRIBLE dancer!
Anyway, you spend way too much time on myspace to not have updated this bloggy thing lately!! What have I told you about my boredom?!?!?!
Sad to say, the only mousketeer I ever saw was Annette Funicello. :-( Somehow I don't think drop it like its hot.
I agree with rebelioness. What is this myspace and why are you not here??? BTW where is MY response to MY email???
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I sent Keri a fan letter; the one and only fan letter I ever wrote. And - God, this is embarrassing - I complimented her hair. Ugh. But, at any rate, I really wanted to be a part of that show. I practiced my audition pieces, too. Too bad they never came to Kentucky for tryouts.
That song, by the way, (Too many walls...) was by Cathy (Kathy?) Dennis. And I LOVED THAT SONG. Sometimes it comes on the easy listening station here at work...Takes me right back to childhood. As did reading this post.
Where ya been?
Cece, I KNOW you ain't asking somebody about responses to email.
Liz, update your blog...PLEEEEZE
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